“Jack! Jack! Over here!”

“Hey, Hamilton, who you got with you there?”

“Hey, Jack, right here! Can you smile? Come on, right here!”

A bouncer had us back inside within seconds, but it was minutes before I could see clearly. Jack clutched at me, shielding me as another member of security ushered us back to another part of the club, quieter and more secluded.

“Jesus, Grace, you okay? Shit!” he exclaimed. I blinked back the flashes I was still seeing and accepted a bottle of water from someone.

“I’m fine. I’m fine!” I told him as he looked me over. “Come on, I mean it. I’m fine.” I tried to smile, patting the back of my head.

“Where the hell is the security in this place? Dammit, why wasn’t someone at that door?” Jack yelled as a manager hurried over.

“Sir, Mr. Hamilton, I’m so sorry,” he tried to explain. “I didn’t realize you were heading out that way, I thought—”

“Are you bloody kidding? What’s the point of having a VIP section if you can’t even keep those fucking animals away from my girlfriend?” he exploded, pulling his phone out of his pocket and dialing angrily.

I crossed to him, placing my hand on his arm. “Who are you calling?”

He held up a finger. “Yeah, Bryan? Hey, can you pick us up? Right, we’re at Bar the Door. Great, twenty minutes? Thanks, man,” he finished, putting his phone away and grabbing for my hand.

Bryan. His new security guy he used for public appearances.

Your boyfriend has his own bodyguard . . .

Wow, did I just have a hit of Hollywood.

“Bryan’s on his way, he’s going to take you home.” Jack kissed my forehead and kept me close against him.

“Why don’t you let me take her home?” I heard a familiar voice say. I looked around and saw Holly walk up behind Jack. He closed his eyes, biting down on his lip—not in the way I was used to seeing it, though.

“Yeah, why don’t I go with Holly?” I scratched at his scalp and prodded him to open his eyes.

“I’d really prefer you go with Bryan. He can get you in and out of here without—”

“Without what, Jack? Paparazzi?” Holly interjected. “It’ll be easier if she and I leave together. They’ve already seen you. They’re only looking for her if she’s with you. You go out with Bryan, and we’ll head out another entrance.”

“I don’t know. I’d feel better if—”

“Jack. You’re famous. She isn’t yet, but she’s gonna be. You two wanna go out dancing? This is gonna happen. Let me take her home,” Holly interrupted, her voice taking on the tone that was not to be messed with.

“I’ll see you there, okay?” I said, leaning in and squeezing his hand before starting after Holly.

“I’m sorry, Grace,” he called after me.

“Hush. You be careful,” I called back, meeting his eyes, which now looked red and tired. Letting Holly lead me back into the crowded club, I took one last look at Jack, head hanging.

This was not good.

“So that was weird,” I said twenty minutes later. Holly and I were packed into her car and speeding up Robertson toward the canyons.

“That? That was nothing. This was just your first real taste of it. It’s gonna get worse. You remember what it was like at his premiere, don’t you?” She passed me her bottle of water. Now that I was outside the club, I could feel my dress sticking to me. I rolled down the window and let the breeze fluff out my hair and clear my brain a little. On the way back out of the club, I had noticed how packed that dance floor really was.

Holy shit, did I really let Jack almost give me an orgasm in the middle of that club? Hollywood . . . Damn, it’s a powerful drug.

“I remember. They barely paid Nick and me any attention at first. They sure went crazy when Jack showed up, though.” I winced, thinking of that night.

“Pfft, they barely paid any attention to you until one of them figured out you were the unidentified redhead. I was doing damage control all night! Gimme that.” She gestured for the water.

I winced again, remembering when a photographer had made the connection that I’d been the one connecting with Jack for months. There weren’t many pictures of us together, but before Time had come out, we’d had a few weeks of relative anonymity early in our relationship. We didn’t really think too much about showing affection in public, and the pictures were still out there.

“That was a bad night all around.” I grimaced. Many cocktails and a shaky sense of self combined into not one of my better moments. I’d almost lost Jack for good.

“Listen, I know he doesn’t always want to listen to me, but my job—in fact, my only job—is to make his life work for him. That’s it. He needs to remember that.” She turned onto Laurel Canyon.

I thought about what she said carefully before I answered. Soon she’d be doing that job for me. Maybe. Possibly. “He knows, Holly. He’s just having a little trouble with all this. It’s so much to get used to. I think he’s doing pretty great, all things considered.”

“Sure, but it’s my job to consider all things, and we still have to figure out what we’re going to do about you two.”

“What about us?”

“Asshead, listen. When you two first got together, it was manageable. He hadn’t really hit yet, and you, well, you were nobody.”

“Thanks.”

“You know what I mean.” She laughed, turning into my drive. She killed the car and the lights, and we sat for a moment in the quiet. “Now he’s the guy everyone is clamoring for, and you’re about to take off on your own path. The same rules don’t apply.”

“So what are you suggesting? That we go public? I thought you said his fans wouldn’t stand for that.” I sighed, running my fingers through my hair and crinkling my nose at the club smell that lingered.

“They won’t. They definitely won’t,” she said, worrying at a fingernail. “Eh, let me think on it. Let me figure out a few things. Don’t worry about it.” She grinned.

“You coming in?” I asked, gesturing toward the house.

“Hell no. I’m exhausted. I’ve got meetings all day tomorrow. Say good night to Jack for me, will you?”

“Will do.” I slid out of the car but turned back toward her as she called my name. “Yes?” I asked through the window.

“He won’t want to hear it from me, but Jack needs to be careful with Adam, okay?”

“Adam? Why?”

“Just tell him to watch it.”

“Anything I need to be worried about?”

“I don’t think so. Not yet anyway. Just mention it?”

“Sure thing. Call me tomorrow.”

“’Night, asshead.”

“’Night, dillweed.” I snorted as she pulled away.

I walked into the house, the weight of the evening hitting me like a ton of bricks and making me very tired.

Watch out for Adam?

Hmmm.

I showered the club stink off, and as I thought back over the night, I was still glad I’d gone out. Did things go a bit far? Yep. But damn that Jack, when he wanted something, he got it. And that included an almost peep show on the dance floor. Images of what could have happened if someone had gotten that on their cell phone made me shiver, even under the hot water. Images of how he’d made me feel made me shiver again, for a very different reason.

I wrapped my hair up in a towel, threw on a cotton nightie, and padded around the house while I waited for Jack to come home. I was a bit surprised he was still not here, but I knew Bryan would get him home safely. It was not uncommon for him to drive around for a while if he thought someone was following him. A sad but true commentary on our lives together.

And you want this career too?

I do.

As I passed a mirror on my way to the kitchen, I stopped and scrutinized a bit. I saw where there could be a bit more cheekbone. I made a mental note to find a trainer this week.